QUIQUE DACOSTA: “I feel very proud to represent gastronomy, cooking and hospitality for this award… in such a difficult year for everyone,” said the chef upon receiving the news.

24/7 VALENCIA: The 3 Michelin stars chef Quique Dacosta has been distinguished today with the ‘Medalla De Oro Al Mérito en Las Bellas Artes 2020’. The Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Minister of Culture and Sport, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, has approved this distinction to different cultural personalities who have stood out in “the field of artistic and cultural creation” or “have rendered notable services in the promotion, development or dissemination of art and culture or in the conservation of artistic heritage”.

After receiving the news, the chef was happy and he wanted to thank the Ministry of Culture “for its sensitivity towards gastronomy”. This recognition is a “relevant support not only to our work but also to a sector that has so much talent”, he said.

Nor did he want to forget his professional family: “My team is a fundamental part of my life, without all of them this award would not be possible”. And he has remembered all those who every day join forces to make his signature cuisine proposal gain importance every year: “It is also a prize for suppliers, producers, farmers, ranchers and fishermen who strive to give us the best tools to tell our story.”

In this edition the rest of the personalities recognized with the most important award of the culture are the composer and singer Pau Donés, the actors Antonio Resines, Adriana Ozores, Emma Suárez, Carlos Hipólito and Álvaro de la Luna, the designer Andrés Sardá, the singer Rosario Flores, the film directors Montxo Armendáriz and Álex de la Iglesia, the dancers Sara Baras and Antonio Canales, the musicians Manolo García and Gustavo Dudamel, the soprano María Bayo and the philosopher Emilio Lledó, among others.

Dacosta, also distinguished as Doctor Honoris Causa in Fine Arts in 2013, has become a reference in gastronomy at an international level, highlighting the creativity and avant-garde of its language in the kitchen, as well as working constantly to track the territory in which it is located with an innovative approach, and always maintaining its status as a disseminator.

The chef, who last year received the award for Best Entrepreneur in the Spanish Restaurant Industry from the Royal Academy of Gastronomy, has placed his restaurant with three Michelin stars at the top of the most important lists in the world, such as Opinionated About Dinning, which has positioned it in the last five years as one of the ten best in Europe, having been number one in the ranking for two consecutive seasons.

The chef is the creator and gastronomic director of the Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid, which will open its doors in the coming months, as well as being the owner and creator of Valencian restaurants ‘El Poblet’ (2 Michelin stars), ‘Vuelve Carolina’, ‘Llisa Negra’, ‘Mercatabar’, and ‘Arros QD’, his most international venture in the heart of London.

With his creativity, Dacosta has crossed the frontiers of cuisine, becoming the presenter and co-producer of Una Vida Una Cena, a successful series on Amazon, in which Dacosta cooks with different international cultural and sporting personalities.

In addition, the beauty and artistic inspiration of his cooking has been the subject of research and analysis by one of the most prestigious publicists, Toni Segarra, and The Mediapro Studio, who created Cooking Beauty, a documentary inspired by his work.

Dacosta also stands out for his work as an ambassador for Action Against Hunger, and he collaborates with other charitable causes such as the Restaurants Against Hunger campaign to raise funds against child malnutrition.

The cook has published several books as part of his work. “Arroces contemporáneos”, “3”, “De Tapas con Quique Dacosta” and “Paisajes transformados”, make up his bibliography throughout his career.

Report by 24/7 Valencia team

More info: https://en.quiquedacosta.es/